There are still many areas in Romania where the temptation to go abroad is not as great, especially since once absorbed by the opportunities that lie ahead, abroad is not so much of interest. The field of IT engineering is one of them. Of course, the financial component plays a massive role here, in the context in which a Romanian employee working in IT received at the end of April 2021 an average net salary of 8,671 lei, according to the latest data from INS.

Then the family, friends, language difficulties or the actual adaptation to daily living in a foreign country also intervene in the equation. wall-street.ro presents the stories of three IT engineers in Romania to see what was behind their decisions when they chose their field of activity, but also what prompted them to stay in the country where they were born, given the openness that this industry offers in other states.
For Luminița A. (44 years old), the choice of such a field came naturally and naturally, especially since she feels that to a large extent the field is also the one that chose her.

"I always wanted to be where I am now. I wanted to be able to work with open-minded people, passionate about what I do, for whom there is no "can't" (...) It is an area with many opportunities that bring you added value, because this industry it is constantly evolving.
If you want to take advantage of these and grow, it's up to you. There is a lot of openness, access to information, trainings, colleagues who give you constructive feedback and help you whenever you need ", says Luminița, Project Manager within ALTEN Romania, the local subsidiary of the French company of the same name, with engineering activities and technical consultancy for players from various industries, such as banking, IT, automotive or retail.

Vlad C. (44 years old) developed a passion for computers as a child, then attended a high school of computer science and a specialized faculty that later helped him to easily put his passion for technology into practice. He says that the IT field is a challenging one and full of innovations, in which new things always happen and which "can really offer you a job for the future".

"There is always something new, both on the Project Management side, in which I am directly involved, and on the software development side. It's an industry where there is always something to do, more and more interesting, you never get into a routine, which for me was and is very important from a professional point of view. Also, the financial offers are considerably better than in other fields "

Vlad, Project Manager within ALTEN Romania.

Why foreigners don't look at them anymore

Many employees in Romania do not want to receive the diaspora label, which is why they struggled to find opportunities in their country to have a decent living (even more than decent), but also to be appreciated at places of work for their true value.
We have realized that an increase in income in the short or medium term does not compensate for the loss of the relational context we currently have. In addition, Romania is already very close to the West in terms of purchasing power in the local market, maybe even over many highly developed countries, where the cost of living is very high. Thus, from my point of view, I do not think that financially I deserve a job outside the country.

Teodor D., 30 years old, Project Director of ALTEN Romania

Vlad has been working in the IT field for 21 years and has been working for Alten for the same time. Right at the beginning of his career he went to France for a year and a half, where he worked side by side with the French within the company for certain projects. Over time, such opportunities arose but he never thought of giving his homeland.
"It was an interesting experience and I was even offered opportunities to stay there (ed. France). However, I seriously weighed the income obtained versus the living costs there and I found that I am at an advantage if I stay in Romania. Since then, I preferred the option of going to other countries with various projects to the client and, thus, I also satisfied my passion to meet new people and cultures ", says Vlad.
Luminița says that she flirted over time with the idea of ​​leaving Romania, but she realized in recent years that there are many projects here that will keep her interest and for which it is worth staying in the country where was born.
"The temptation to leave has always existed and will probably continue to exist, somewhere in the background, every time I see friends or relatives relocating. It's just that the last years spent in Alten have changed my perspective and shown me that there are interesting and challenging projects in Romania, and the technologies used here can be as advanced as those across borders ", stated Luminița.

Work vs. personal life. Where the balance tilts and what happens when "excess passion" occurs

Every employee builds and plans their work and private life as they feel, but the reality shows us that most of the time it is quite difficult to share and dose your energy both at work and at home. When you are passionate about what you do, you almost don't even look at your watch, and the hours fly by you, and it's already dark outside.

" For me, it's a little harder to find a balance, because I'm very passionate about what I do and I totally dedicate myself to the projects I'm involved in. In Alten, this balance is a matter for each person, for their own discipline, because, at company level, a healthy work-life balance is encouraged. Over the years, I have come to realize that I am solely responsible for how I plan my personal time and have built a discipline in this regard ", explains Vlad.

Luminița says that she also faces an " excess of passion ", which, no matter how inoffensive or beneficial, might sound like this.

"At first I couldn't find this balance because of the excess of passion and the desire to learn as much as possible in a short time. But, fortunately, I had very good examples in the team and my colleagues helped me to temper myself and to better dose my efforts. Which I'm very grateful for"she said.

What it’s like to work with younger generations

The last generation to enter the field of work is Generation Z, about which their predecessors say that patience is not their strong point, but that they are curious, want to be heard and are willing to work to the white canvases for what they enjoy. . Teodor categorizes young people who have just entered the field of work as a generation of "sprinters", who are willing to make great efforts to progress, if they understand the cause and meaning of their work.

Young people know much better how to keep their balance between private and professional life, which is why I admire them so much. They have the courage to be heard. As advice, I would say to have, however, a little more patience because sometimes they get bored too quickly and tend to be superficial. To have a lasting home means to have a quality foundation - the same happens with us humans. In order to reach the top and be respected, you have to be patient, work hard, not skip steps or cheat.

Luminița, Project Manager ALTEN Romania

Vlad believes that the current generation of young people entering work for the first time is not so different from the previous one. Given that Generation Z is constantly connected to technology and social media, they often fail to discern information correctly.

"It's true, they have more and more desire to learn and are more connected to technology. However, I believe that, being exposed to a lot of information and because they have to discern the type of information, they have developed a template for making choices. And this reduces their flexibility a bit, especially when they are faced with new situations. Thus, a new feature has emerged for the current generation, namely overspecialization, which reduces their advantage of assimilating information on other topics in the field, they choose to specialize in areas as narrow as possible, "he said. .

Published by Wall-street.ro .